Backward bifurcations, turning points and rich dynamics in simple disease models (Q329371)

The authors first present a detailed overview on previous results concerning their subject: the investigation of epidemiological models. Then they treat two similar two-dimensional infection models, and one autoimmune disease model, where they distinguish nonlinear incidence rates of concave, convex, and mixed type. Depending on the different assumptions, they analyze the location and stability of the corresponding equilibria in the nonnegative quadrant, and discuss saddle-node bifurcation as well as transcritical bifurcation and Hopf bifurcations. Abundant numerical simulations show the relation between the parameter values of the different bifurcations and the occurrence of bistability, regular oscillations, and so-called recurrence. The character of the paper is essentially narrative, and analytical details of the complex mathematical background are missing.